US Weekly Jobless Claims Fall; Labor Market Remains Stable

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to continued ​labor market stability.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped ‌8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 208,000 for the week ended July 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled ​by Reuters had forecast 217,000 claims for the ​latest week.

Claims have retreated after surging at the end ⁠of May and staying elevated through mid-June. They ​are at levels that economists say are consistent with what ​they call a "slow hire, slow fire" labor market.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report on Wednesday said "employment rose on balance," in early ​July, with "five districts showing modest, moderate, or solid ​gains in employment, and with seven districts experiencing little to no ‌change." ⁠It noted that skilled workers were hard to find in a range of fields, especially technicians and tradespeople.

A National Federation of Independent Business survey this week ​also highlighted worker ​shortages, reporting ⁠a jump in June in the share of small business owners who said there ​were few or no qualified applicants for ​the ⁠positions they were trying to fill.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a ⁠proxy ​for hiring, fell 16,000 to ​a seasonally adjusted 1.805 million during the week ended July 4, the claims ​report showed.